The Saiyan Transcendents
by Etherborn
Summary: Vegeta reawakened in a healing tank on one of Freeza's outposts. If he wasn't feeling so vengeful by the moment of his return, all this extra power would most certainly have gone to his head. But this time, they had a mission to accomplish. And they couldn't afford to fail. Time Travel AU.
1. The Prince Rises

Summary: Vegeta reawakened in a healing tank on one of Freeza's outposts. If he wasn't feeling so vengeful by the moment of his return, all this extra power would most certainly have gone to his head. But this time, they had a mission to accomplish. And they couldn't afford to fail. Time Travel AU.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, or Dragon Ball Super.

* * *

Chapter I: The Prince Rises

When the Prince of Saiyans awoke again, he was sore all over. While this wasn't necessarily an uncommon occurrence, he couldn't help but wonder what period he could have come back to if he was feeling this way _already_. The process of lifting his heavy eyelids was slow going, but as his dark eyes surveyed his surroundings, he began to gather an awareness of his current circumstances.

He was in a technologically advanced room. Capsule Corp? No, definitely not, he decided, as he took note of the healing tank he was currently in. Bulma had never felt the need to rely on that kind of technology, what with Kakarott having ready access to the far more practical Senzu Beans. So, he wasn't on earth.

Where had that blasted dragon sent him?

Vegeta resisted the reflexive urge to blow up the healing tank to alleviate his frustration. He calmed his mind and began to think. First, assess the situation. What time period was he in? That would be easy enough to investigate. In fact, there was no need for investigation at all. He felt for his own ki, trying to get a read on how high his power was currently, and was shocked.

He was as weak as he had been when he'd first set foot on Namek!

Just how far back had he gone? Was this his period of recovery after his first arrival on earth, during which he'd been forced to retreat? If so, then Freeza was currently on his way to Namek on a quest for immortality, and Gohan was on his way there along with the bald one and—

 _Bulma._

This time, he blew up the tank with zero hesitation. He quickly donned his old set of armor, which had been laid out for him, and made his way out into the hall. He was pretty much healed anyway.

"Vegeta!" came an annoyingly familiar voice that he had long forgotten.

He sighed. Not this shit again. He resolved to ignore this new headache and keep walking, but the fish faced bastard cut in front of him.

"What's the rush, Vegeta? Off to Namek are we?" Cui asked with a smug smirk.

"Yes, actually. Now move."

The smile dropped from his face. "Admitting it that easily? You'd think you'd be a little more discrete about betraying Freeza."

"As much as I'd love to have this conversation, I need to go kill Freeza now. Move or die."

"What!? You can't be serious! You're not actually stupid enough to—"

Cui never finished his sentence, seeing as Vegeta chose that moment to incinerate him with a ki blast.

 _Pathetic,_ he thought as he kept walking. As he made his way out, he felt for the well of energy that had been present within him for so many years now.

It wasn't there.

Ok, so he couldn't go Super Saiyan. What about…?

He closed his eyes and concentrated, before opening them and grunting. His godly ki was gone too. He was going to have his work cut out for him to gain his full strength back. All he had left was his knowledge and his perfect ki control, as well as…

Briefly closing his eyes in meditation, he smirked. His Ultra Instinct was unaffected.

Oh, this would be fun. Soon he was at his pod and setting the coordinates for Namek. Either because they had witnessed him kill one of Freeza's elites or because they hadn't, no one tried to stop him.

* * *

When Vegeta's pod entered Namek's atmosphere, he immediately suppressed his ki completely. As much as he'd like to go straight for Freeza, it would be better to get a feel for his old body first, to be sure that his power was high enough. So, as much as it nauseated him, he'd play it safe for now and work his way up.

As his pod descended, his senses caught several distinct ki signatures. Disregarding the cannon fodder soldiers and weakling Namekians scattered around the planet, Freeza, Zarbon, and Dodoria were easily recognized. He also sensed Gohan and the bald one briefly before their signatures were promptly suppressed, no doubt in response to seeing his pod enter the planet's atmosphere. But the one he was looking for didn't know how to suppress their ki.

 _Bulma._

He let her familiar ki wash over him, content to know that at least she was safe for now, before pinpointing her location and taking note of where he would no doubt find the other two should he need to.

But what puzzled him was another ki far off in the middle of nowhere. Other than Freeza's, it was the highest on the planet right now. He was annoyed to realize it was actually higher than his own at the moment. Who could that belong to?

A memory tugged at his consciousness. Piccolo...he had fused with another Namekian on Namek, hadn't he? That was how he'd fought on par with Freeza's second form. Was this the very same Namekian he'd fused with?

Well, not that it mattered at the moment. As he got out of his pod, a smile crept its way onto his face.

The game had begun.

* * *

"K-Krillin?" Gohan stuttered. "Who was that?"

"I don't know, Gohan," Krillin replied. "It was a saiyan space pod, but whoever was in it, I couldn't feel their ki."

"Is it possible that they were suppressing it?" Gohan asked.

"I thought this crowd didn't know how," Krillin lamented. "But whether it's possible or not, it's happening. We'll have to be careful from now on."

"Right!"

"Hey, you two!"

* * *

Vegeta was sitting on the ground meditating when he felt the ki signatures of Gohan and Krillin spike for the briefest of moments before disappearing again. Deciding they had simply been taking out some small fry, he ignored it.

Focusing intently on what he knew of Freeza's full power at this time, he focused his thoughts inward and visualized how a fight between the two of them would go as of now. A bead of sweat started dripping down his face as the imaginary battle dragged on, and eventually ended with the lizard tyrant pinning him down and gutting him.

Vegeta opened his eyes and cursed. Even with his perfect ki control, Freeza's final form would simply be too much for this untrained body. He would have to be smart about this. Closing his eyes again, he continued to meditate, keeping his ki suppressed while he waited for the right moment to strike. A couple hours later, his eyes shot open.

* * *

Gohan was trembling in rage against his will. He and Krillin currently lay prone over a cliff face, watching the space tyrant known as Freeza strongarm a group of peaceful Namekians. He and his followers already had four Dragon Balls, and at the rate this encounter was going, they would soon have a fifth, with or without the Namekians' compliance.

Hope had sparked within them when three Namekian warriors had arrived, but though they were more than a match for the foot soldiers, Freeza's two elites had crushed them easily. They only good thing that had come out of all this was the loss of the enemy's scouters.

Gohan could only watch in dismay as the elder finally agreed to hand over the Dragon Ball in exchange for the children's lives. His dread grew as Freeza demanded to know where the next village was. The elder, not willing to sell out so many lives, could only refuse.

Gohan knew they had to intervene. The Dragon Balls were one thing, but the couldn't just sit around and let these monsters slaughter children!

"Krillin!" he whispered urgently.

"I know. Let's go," the bald monk replied.

Just as they were about to move, however, the most unexpected thing happened, fast enough that they were left wondering if it had happened at all.

Gohan and Krillin barely had time to register the new ki that had just spiked before a figure dove out of the sky and blasted the pink, spiky headed one.

"Tough luck, Dodoria!" the newcomer shouted, before swooping down and grabbing the Dragon Ball that the downed elite had been holding, and flying off.

Gohan and Krillin trembled as they felt Dodoria's ki disappear. The monster that had just killed off the Namekian warriors like they were nothing had just been killed, in turn, with a single attack. And they both knew who it was that had done the deed. The ki, the face, the voice, they had recognized them all.

Freeza and his remaining follower could barely get over their shock enough to form a coherent sentence, and were slow to react to the current circumstances. Seeing Dodoria's corpse seemed to break them out of their daze, however.

"Zarbon! After him, _now_!" Freeza shouted, losing his composure for the first time on this planet.

"Gohan, the Namekians!" Krillin shouted.

As swift as they could, the two swept down, taking advantage of the confusion, and grabbed the children.

"Follow us!" Krillin shouted at the stunned elder.

Zarbon looked like he was about to react, but Freeza dissuaded him.

"Ignore it! Vegeta has the Dragon Ball! Find him before he escapes!" the tyrant commanded.

Zarbon took off after Vegeta, leaving Gohan, Krillin, and Elder Moori time to get away. Thankfully, Freeza acted as if they weren't even there, having lost interest in the Namekians as he stared after Vegeta with a thoughtful frown.

* * *

Vegeta smirked as he felt Zarbon's ki follow after him. With the wind rushing past him as he flew through the green sky, a sudden sense of peace washed over him.

He was back. He was really back. So many opportunities...but first, he had to deal with the lizard tyrant on the top of his shit list. Meditation had allowed him to raise his power, but not by much. There was only so much he could do without training. Luckily, his body seemed to be adjusting to the new soul that inhabited it. As he deliberately slowed down to allow Zarbon to get closer, the nostalgia of it all hit him.

Oh, but how differently this fight would turn out.

He was getting that old familiar feeling. The one he had long since learned to squash whenever it rose up within him, living a better, fulfilling life on earth as he had been for years. Out of necessity, out of respect, and, dare he say it, out of the morality he had developed.

But no matter how far a killer strays from the path of bloodshed, they can never really forget it. The beast never truly becomes _tame_.

"Is something funny, Vegeta?" Zarbon asked with a condescending air about him as he flew in next to the saiyan prince and saw the smirk on his face, which widened when Vegeta noticed him eying the Dragon Ball in his hand.

"Hilarious, actually. I can't believe you really followed me. Do you have no self preservation instincts?"

Zarbon smiled in amusement. "I should be asking you that. Though, I can't really complain. I've wanted to put an end to you and your monkey pride for a while now. As it happens, your pathetic little rebellion has given me the perfect opportunity."

"Zarbon, the only opportunity that just opened up for you is a free, one way ticket to Otherworld. And let me tell you firsthand...it's going to suck."

Zarbon snarled. "You think just because you blindsided Dodoria that you can win this fight? Vegeta, you have no idea what you're dealing wi—"

He cut off as blood erupted from his mouth, and looked down in horror at Vegeta's fist, which as ruthlessly implanted deep into his stomach.

"Goodbye," Vegeta whispered tauntingly, before blowing a hole clean through Zarbon with a large ki blast, vaporizing his insides in the process. The elite's corpse fell quietly into the ocean below.

"All too easy." He looked off into the distance thoughtfully and smiled. "Maybe I'll just drop in quickly."

* * *

Krillin suppressed a shiver as he felt the remaining elite's ki disappear. Vegeta was ruthless, as always.

"Everyone, suppress your ki," he instructed. Gohan and the three Namekians did as they were told. "Is everyone ok?" he asked once he couldn't sense them anymore.

"Yes, we're fine," Elder Moori stated, even as he mourned the loss of the other Namekians. "We can't thank you enough, whoever you are."

"It's no problem," Gohan said with a friendly smile, though there was still a bead of sweat rolling down his face from the experience. "We're from planet Earth, by the way."

"Earth? Must be far from here...I've never heard of it before," Moori commented. "Did you come for use of the Dragon Balls as well?"

"Yeah, that's right," Krillin answered. "We had a set on our planet, but the Namekian who created them passed away."

Moori looked surprised. "A Namekian on your planet? And he created a set of Dragon Balls?"

"Yeah. He was the guardian of our planet until he died. We planned on coming here to request use of yours, to wish some friends of our back to life, but then we found _those_ guys here."

Moori nodded solemnly. "Yes, those monsters have been ravaging our planet for some time now, moving from village to village in search of the Dragon Balls. There was nothing we could do in the face of such monstrous power. Especially their leader…"

"Freeza, right? To be honest, I have no idea what we're going to do about him," Krillin admitted. "And then there's Vegeta. He's going to be a huge problem too. I just felt his ki spike, and he's far stronger than he was when we fought him. We should lay low, for now."

"I agree," Moori said with a nod.

"So should we go back to the cave now to meet with Bulma?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan," Krillin said. Suddenly, his head perked up, and after a moment, his eyes widened. "Oh no…"

"What is it?" Gohan asked worriedly.

"It's Vegeta! He's near Bulma, and getting closer!"

Gohan gasped. "He must have found her ki with a scouter! We have to go!"

To their credit, the Namekians didn't question them, opting to fly after the two without a word.

* * *

Bulma was pissed. Since they'd landed on Namek, their ship had been destroyed, stranding them on the planet, they'd had to walk for miles to get to some random cave to hide, and now she'd been left in said random cave, alone, because apparently it was too dangerous for her to come along.

Fuck that! She was on an alien planet! She didn't want to stay in a cave, she could stay in caves on earth! Not that she ever would...

She was interrupted from her musings when the doorbell to the capsule house rang. She jumped to her feet. "Finally! Took them long enough!"

When she opened the door though, it wasn't Krillin or Gohan.

Staring back at her with a piercing gaze was Vegeta, the Saiyan Prince.

Bulma screamed.


	2. Back in the Swing of Things

Chapter II: Back in the Swing of Things

Bulma fell backwards onto the floor, trembling as Vegeta walked into the capsule house. His posture was relaxed as he held an oversized Dragon Ball under his arm, but his eyes shone with a frightening intensity as they stared into hers.

"Bulma," he said quietly, causing her to jump.

"H-How do you know my name?" she asked fearfully.

Vegeta blinked, as if coming out of a trance, and smirked. "How indeed?" he said, a bit mockingly. "I suppose the only ones who could have told me were cue-ball and the brat," he continued, easily deflecting the question.

Bulma's eyes widened in shock as she came to the wrong conclusion, namely that he'd already encountered Krillin and Gohan.

"You! What did you do to them?" she yelled defiantly, rising to her feet, despite the lingering fear in her eyes. "If you hurt them, I swear I'll—"

"Oh, quit your babbling, woman. I haven't even run into them yet, but I know they're here regardless."

Bulma stared at him skeptically, but started to calm down, seeing no reason why he'd bother lying. "Oh...well, ok? So, what do you want with me?" she asked fearfully.

 _Plenty, but that'll have to wait._ "Nothing, I'm just here to give you this," Vegeta answered, tossing over the Dragon Ball. Unprepared, Bulma fumbled with the oversized orb before finally gaining a grip on it. She stared at him incredulously as he turned around and waved.

"Those two have no doubt noticed I'm here by now. Give it to them when they arrive, will you?" he asked, as if he couldn't care one way or another. She could only stare, dumbfounded.

"Hey, wait!" Bulma finally shouted, following him out the door after he exited the cave.

But he had already flown off into the air.

* * *

When Krillin and Gohan arrived back at the cave along with the Namekians, they found Bulma standing outside the door to a capsule house, staring off vacantly into the distance with a Dragon Ball in her hands.

...Wait, what?

"Bulma!" Gohan yelled as they touched down. "Are you ok?" She nodded numbly.

"What happened?" Krillin urged. "Where's Vegeta?"

"He...left," she answered absently.

Krillin gaped. " _Left?_ " he repeated dumbly. "What, he just dropped by, said hello, and then took off?"

Bulma seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in. "Well, no," she admitted. "He gave me this." She tossed Krillin the Dragon Ball, which he caught. "He told me to give it to you guys."

"...He what?"

Bulma shrugged, obviously just as baffled. Gohan listened silently, wide eyes darting back between the two.

"But—but that makes no sense! He wanted the Dragon Balls for himself! That's the whole reason he came to earth and _killed most of our friends_! Now he's just handing it over? Is that bastard mocking us?"

Bulma once again shrugged helplessly. "To be honest, I don't think so. I mean, on one hand he was what I expected. A bit arrogant, rude, acting all high and mighty…but he almost seemed...sincere. And, I don't know, courteous in a way? Did he seem like that when you guys met him?"

Krillin and Gohan exchanged a confused glance, before turning back and simultaneously shaking their heads.

"I'm sorry, but who is this Vegeta?" Elder Moori asked, speaking for the first time.

"Oh, you guys found some of the Namekians?" Bulma asked, finally taking note of them. "Hi there! I'm Bulma!"

Moori nodded politely, while the two children, Dende and Cargo, introduced themselves.

"To answer your question, Vegeta is the one who distracted Freeza and his goons back there by killing the pink guy," Krillin said. "As much as I hate to admit it, he helped us out a lot. I don't know if we could have gotten you guys out of there otherwise."

"Wait, so he helped you guys, even if indirectly?" Bulma asked, her analytical mind going to work. "Doesn't it seem like he's being kind of...nice?"

"That's just weird…" Krillin mumbled. "What's he playing at?"

"Maybe he wants us to feel like we owe him," Gohan suggested. "I mean, he knows we're the good guys, right?"

Krillin gave the 5 year old a disbelieving stare. "What could he possibly want from us? He's a hundred time stronger than both of us combined."

"True…" Gohan conceded. "But he was fighting fairly evenly with my dad, wasn't he? Maybe he wants his help to take down that Freeza guy, so he's playing nice?"

"That doesn't seem likely either. Even if he assumed Goku was here, he doesn't seem like the type to ask for help from anyone, much less his enemies."

"Oh, guys, that reminds me!" Bulma spoke up. "I got a call from Master Roshi before he showed up! Goku is going to arrive on Namek in six days, and he's training on the way here!"

That seemed to brighten up the atmosphere. Once the Namekians were told how strong Goku was, they seemed to regain a spark of hope as well.

"So it seems like Vegeta might get that alliance after all," Gohan said thoughtfully.

"Assuming that's really what he's after. Even if he did want one, I don't think we could trust him not to betray us at the end of the day."

"Yeah, you might be right," Gohan said as he looked down, remembering the careless ease with which the Saiyan Prince had ordered the deaths of their friends.

"Do you think we should go talk to him?" Bulma suddenly asked.

"Even if we wanted to, we can't if he doesn't want to be found," Krillin replied. "I had my suspicions, but now there's no doubt about it. He's learned to hide his ki."

"I suppose there's no point wondering about it now then," she admitted. "We have one Dragon Ball. That means as long as this Freeza guy doesn't find us, they can't make their wish, right?"

"That's correct," Moori confirmed.

"So how should we go about getting the others?" Gohan asked.

"Well, I'm not sure how we can get the ones Freeza has as of now," Krillin began, "But we should be able to use the Dragon Radar to find the ones he hasn't found yet."

Gohan nodded and turned the Dragon Radar on. He turned in the direction of the nearest one, which was still pretty far off.

"That one resides in one of the villages that hasn't been attacked yet," Moori commented. "With any luck, it will stay that way, since I destroyed those contraptions they were using to track us. Though, if I could make a suggestion?" The elder pointed in a different direction, where a farther off Dragon Ball was blipping on the radar. "That one is in the hands of Lord Guru, the Grand Elder of Namek. He has the unique power to draw out one's hidden potential. If both of you were to visit him, it might give you better odds against that madman's forces."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Krillin replied. "Will you guys be fine here on your own?" Receiving ready nods from the Namekians and a reluctant one from Bulma, he and Gohan took off again.

* * *

Vegeta touched down in a small village, the same one he distinctly remembered pillaging last time. As he walked up to the white domed houses, he was met by the wary stares of the locals.

"Hello," an older Namekian, probably the elder, greeted. "Can we help you, young one?"

"Let's skip the pleasantries," Vegeta drawled. "I need your Dragon Ball."

The elder seemed a bit unnerved, as did the rest of the townspeople. "And would you happen to know anything about the ones that have been taking them from other villages by force?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yes, actually," Vegeta replied. "I'm here to make sure they don't get them all, among other things. And you're lucky I found you before they did. Now, the Dragon Ball."

The elder sighed, no doubt realizing that he could just take it by force if he so chose, and relented. Soon, Vegeta was flying away with another gold starred orb tucked under his arm.

* * *

"Hey Krillin? One of the Dragon Balls is moving," Gohan said worriedly.

"Really? Do you think Vegeta's got it?" the monk asked.

"Must be. I don't think anyone else could find it since those other guys had their scouters destroyed."

"Yeah…" Krillin said thoughtfully. "But was Vegeta even wearing one when we saw him?"

Gohan's eyes widened. "You know, I only caught a glance of him, but I didn't see one."

Krillin sighed. "Great. That would mean he's learned how to sense ki too. What else did we inadvertently teach him?"

Gohan shrugged.

It took another hour of flying until they reached their destination, which turned out to be a tall, thin plateau with a single white dome building atop it. Touching down, they were greeted by a tall, young Namekian.

"Hello there," he said with a touch of a smile. "Your kis are pure. It's good to see visitors who aren't here to ravage the planet. Can I help you two?"

"Um, that's actually part of the reason we're here. Do you think we can speak to Lord Guru?"

"Of course. Follow me." Nail led them in, where the Grand Elder welcomed them.

"Hello, young ones. Am I correct in assuming you have need of our Dragon Ball?" he asked.

"That's right," Krillin nodded. "If Freeza gets ahold of it, it'll be really bad for us all. We also have our own wish we need to make. Some friends of ours died recently, and we need to wish them back."

"Very well," Lord Guru complied, as Nail fetched the Dragon Ball and handed it to Krillin.

"Lord Guru Sir?" Gohan spoke up. "Elder Moori said you can also awaken our inner potentials. Do you think you could…?"

"Yes, I sense great potential in you both. Especially you, young saiyan," Guru said. "Come forward."

Krillin went first, laughing in joy as his strength was multiplied several times over. Gohan had a similar reaction when he felt his power reach the level Vegeta's was at on earth.

Their business done, they thanked the Grand Elder profusely. Before they could leave though, the Grand Elder gave them one last piece of information.

"I should mention, there is another saiyan on the planet currently. Would you happen to know of him?"

"Oh, you mean Vegeta. Yeah, we've met the guy," Krillin grumbled.

"Would you happen to know what his motives are?" Nail asked. "Just a couple minutes ago, we sensed him in a village on the other side of the planet, one with a Dragon Ball. He didn't harm anyone, but we want to be sure he isn't hostile, since his power is quite high."

Krillin frowned. "You're saying he left the village without hurting anyone?"

Nail exchanged a look with the Grand Elder before turning back to the two earthlings. "That's correct. Why, is that uncharacteristic behavior for him?"

"You could say that. When he came to earth, half of our friends ended up dead," Krillin replied. "I'm honestly surprised he hasn't killed anyone."

"Then again, he's been acting strange lately," Gohan said, remembering what Bulma had said.

Nail hummed in thought. "While his ki isn't malevolent, it isn't completely pure either. If what you say is true, we'd best keep our attention on him."

"Yeah, you're right," Gohan agreed, as he looked down at the radar. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

"Uh, Krillin? The Dragon Balls that Freeza had...it looks like they've been separated."

"What? Really?" Krillin looked down at the radar in amazement. Sure enough, the four Dragon Balls that Freeza and his army had gathered were now scattered around, far enough away from each other that it would be nearly impossible to find them all without a radar. A fifth one was making its way over to the area in which they were scattered about."

"That must be Vegeta," Gohan deduced.

"Well, he's certainly been busy. Think we can get our hands on those before he finds them, Gohan?"

"Maybe we don't need to, Krillin," Gohan reasoned. "If he wanted to make a wish, he wouldn't have given us that Dragon Ball he had."

"Why is he gathering them at all then?"

"To keep them away from Freeza, maybe?" Gohan suggested. "He probably doesn't want that guy to make a wish either."

Krillin sighed. "I guess you're right. It looks like we're going to have to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't think we can just take those without him noticing anyway."

Thanking Lord Guru and Nail once again, the two took off.

* * *

Freeza stood in the middle of a ransacked room, where multiple dead soldiers were strewn about. The room was conspicuously empty of the four Dragon Balls Freeza had placed inside. At the far side of the room was a large, round window with a hole blasted through it.

He had only stepped out for a minute to make a call, but it was as if that blasted saiyan had known the moment he'd left the room. This...was unforgivable.

As soon as the Ginyus arrived with the scouters, that Monkey. Would. _Pay._


	3. Rivals Reunite

Chapter III: Rivals Reunite

"Gohan, do you feel that?" Krillin asked, sweat dripping down his face. They'd been on the way back from the Grand Elder's when he had sensed five large ki signatures heading towards Namek.

Gohan nodded, just as nervous. "Even with our increase in strength, those guys on their way are just too much. Do you think they'll find us?"

"They probably have more scouters," Krillin reasoned. "But Vegeta's the one they're after, right? Freeza saw him take the Dragon Ball, and he doesn't have a radar. He probably thinks Vegeta still has it."

"You're right!" Gohan realized. "But then, shouldn't we go help Vegeta? He _did_ help us out."

"To be honest Gohan, I think Vegeta can take care of himself," Krillin replied. "Even if we went, we might just get in his way. Not that I think he deserves our help to begin with…" he grumbled.

Gohan frowned. "But there are five of them, Krillin. Even if he can handle them, they might split up and get ahold of the Dragon Balls. We can't risk that happening!"

Krillin thought for a moment, and eventually sighed. "I guess you're right, Gohan. It doesn't sit well with me to leave everything to him either. We should be there."

Gohan grinned wide, thrilled that the monk had come around.

* * *

Vegeta sat on a boulder, waiting impatiently as he stared off at the horizon.

The Ginyus had touched down. Now they were reporting to Freeza. He intentionally let his ki leak out, enough to catch the attention of their scouters, but not enough to be deemed a threat by most of their members.

It was only a matter of time now.

He was soon surprised to feel the signatures of Gohan and Krillin head in his direction. Although he knew they were likely coming for the Dragon Balls, they must have sensed the Ginyu Force by now. Were they coming to form an alliance as he had insisted on in the previous timeline?

Well, he'd find out soon enough. The Ginyus were also headed his way. He impatiently counted down the minutes, until finally the five elite members of the Freeza Force touched down in front of them, smug smirks on all of their faces.

All except Captain Ginyu, who was studying Vegeta as if he were some strange specimen of bug that wasn't afraid to be squashed.

"Getting a bit overconfident, are we, Vegeta?" The Captain spoke, breaking the silence. "Surely you knew we were coming? We'd have thought you'd be scrambling to gather the Dragon Balls you stole. Where are those, come to think of it?"

Vegeta smirked as he slowly and casually got up from the boulder. "I lost them," he replied.

"Amusing," Ginyu stated, although Vegeta could see past the facade of indifference to the annoyance underneath. Freeza and the Ginyu Force had obviously been depending on the probability that Vegeta would have gathered the balls in an attempt to make his wish. But as it happened, he no longer had a wish to make, which threw a wrench in their plans, seeing as they could only track life settlements with their scouters, not the orbs themselves.

"It really is a shame, Vegeta," Ginyu continued. "You were always such an obedient pet, and now you've all but sealed your fate. I suppose if you won't tell us where the Dragon Balls are, we could always torture the information out of you."

"Now there's a thought," Vegeta said, the smirk never leaving his face. "Of course, there is an alternative solution."

"Oh? Don't keep us in suspense," Ginyu said, deceptively polite.

"You could always just die," Vegeta said, as he held his finger out and shot a ki beam at the group.

The attack was far too fast for the group to react, and they could only watch in shock as it pierced straight through the skull of their weakest member. Guldo was dead before he hit the ground.

In the shock of losing one of their members so quickly, the other four weren't ready for the attack that followed. While they were still unprepared, Vegeta blasted forward and sent a roundhouse kick to Recoome's head. There was a sharp snap as the large brute's head bent around backwards, before he fell to the ground lifelessly with a dull thud.

This time, the remaining three scattered, leaping away from the foe they had previously dismissed as any type of threat.

"He killed Recoome!" Burter shouted, aghast. "But the scouter had his power level at 30,000! That shouldn't be possible!"

"Jeice," Ginyu growled, annoyed with having lost two members.

Jeice obligingly pressed the button on his scouter again, only to realize that the reading was exactly the same. "Captain, I think there's something wrong with my scouter!" he relayed.

Ginyu sighed in frustration and pressed the button on his own scouter, only to receive the same result. "What is this?" he snarled.

"Fools. You won't be able to ascertain the depths of my power with those useless contraptions," Vegeta said with a smirk.

Ginyu's eyes narrowed. "So, you can raise and lower your power at will. Is that how you fooled us into thinking you were weaker than Recoome?"

"Something like that," Vegeta said dismissively. "Not that it matters even if you manage to figure it out. You'll soon join your two followers in Otherworld."

Before Ginyu could so much as respond, another figure appeared out of nowhere, right next to Vegeta.

* * *

When Gohan and Krillin arrived at the scene, they quickly suppressed their power levels and hid behind a boulder to retain the element of surprise.

"Gohan, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Krillin asked weakly.

Gohan nodded shakily. Vegeta was surrounded on all sides by three of the newest arrivals. Only three. The other two they had sensed were lying on the ground, dead.

"He's making quick work of these guys," Krillin said with a shaky laugh. "Do you think we came for nothing?"

"Maybe, but we should still stick around. The other three are much stronger and might have some tricks up their sleeves," Gohan replied.

The two listened to the four warriors converse from a distance, they grew confused.

"Krillin, what's that purple guy talking about? Vegeta's power is much higher than the big guy's was."

"I don't know, Gohan. Somehow, their scouters can't get a read on his actual power. He's found a way to trick them. At least we can still sense him." The two continued to listen as Ginyu looked as if he was about to speak again.

Before he could however, a familiar figure appeared right next to Vegeta, one that made Krillin and Gohan stare in shock.

"Kakarot...what are you doing here, idiot?" Vegeta growled. "Weren't you supposed to arrive 5 days from now?"

"Yeah, but I sensed you hogging all the action! You weren't even gonna wait for me, Vegeta! You were planning on taking down Freeza before I even got here, weren't you?" the newly arrived saiyan accused.

Vegeta scoffed. "So what if I was?"

"That's not fair! I want to fight too!"

"You got to kill him last time. I get to kill him this time. That's perfectly fair you numbskull."

" _Trunks_ killed him last time!"

"No, that was the time before. I'm talking about the time after that when you _stole my kill_!"

Gohan and Krillin watched the two bicker, dumbfounded. How had Goku gotten here…? Why was he acting so casual with Vegeta…? What was going on…? What—

"Enough of this, you filthy monkeys!" Ginyu roared. "I didn't come here to be ignored! Now if one of you don't explain in five seconds what in the hell is going on here, I'm going to—

"SHUT UP!" Vegeta shouted over him, extending his palm towards the remaining Ginyu Force members before engulfing them in a ki blast that shook the landscape.

"See? That's what I'm talking about!" Goku whined. "You didn't even give me a crack at them!"

"Who cares, Kakarot? They're fucking weaklings! Besides, knowing you, you probably would have gotten your body stolen again!"

The two continued to bicker as the dust cleared, revealing the charred remains of the Ginyus.

Gohan and Krillin's perceived realities were officially fucked up beyond all recognition.

* * *

"So let me see if I've got this Goku," Krillin said, eyes closed and arms crossed. "You two came from the future, in which Vegeta is one of us and has helped defend the earth against multiple threats, in order to train and get stronger earlier, all so you can prevent the insurrection of a divine hierarchy that oversees the cosmos that almost destroyed the universe? Is that about right?"

"Multiverse," Vegeta corrected. "But other than that, yeah, pretty much."

"And we're just going to go with the flow of all this, huh? For me, it was only a month ago that you had our friends killed, you know."

Vegeta shrugged. "You can wish them back once we have access to the Namekian Dragon Balls. They're in Otherworld, it's not as if they were erased, or killed with Destruction Energy. Getting them back won't be _that_ hard."

Krillin stared at the prince blandly. "I didn't understand half of what you just said," the monk deadpanned. "But death is kind of a big deal you know, at least to me."

"Then be glad we came back. As a result, you won't be killed by Freeza this time."

Krillin faltered. "I—you— _what_? You mean I...ok, you know what? I don't wanna know," he decided. "So where does Freeza play into all of this? Is he just a footnote?"

Vegeta scowled, as Goku chuckled sheepishly. "Uh, well, not really," the more cheerful of the two saiyans cut in. "You see, he was dead for a while, but then some stuff happened and—"

"Kakarot, we can discuss your boneheaded decision making skills at a later date," Vegeta cut him off. "For now, we're about to have company."

Gohan and Krillin stiffened as they sensed Freeza's ki heading in their direction.

"Oh great, he's on his way!" Krillin bemoaned. "Now what?"

"Wait, Krillin! This might not be so bad. His power may seem huge to us, but compared to my dad's and Vegeta's, it's actually kind of small."

"That's only his first form," Vegeta grunted. "His final form is far stronger."

Gohan deflated. "Oh...but if you two work together, you can still beat him, right?"

"Kakarot, stand back, I get first crack at him," Vegeta said, completely ignoring the question.

"Oh, come on! You got to fight those other guys!"

"You got to fight him first when he was revived on earth," Vegeta replied easily. "And you even interrupted my fight with him afterward. So now it's my turn."

Goku sighed. "Fine, I guess. But if you lose, I get to tag in!"

Vegeta scoffed. "Fine, whatever."

Freeza finally touched down in front of him, an infuriated scowl on his face.

"I must say I'm impressed, Vegeta. You've come a long way from the little monkey whose father sent him off to be my obedient servant. It's really a shame that it's come to this. If the Ginyu Force wasn't enough to dispatch of you, I suppose I'll just have to get my hands a little wet! But before I kill you all, you're going to tell me exactly where you hid those Dragon Balls! Only then will I release you to the sweet release of death that you'll be begging—"

Freeza was interrupted as a thin beam of ki shot passed his face. His eyes widened as he brought a hand up to his cheek and then towards his eyes, staring at the thin line of blood that now adhered to his fingers in disbelief.

"Stop your blasted monologuing and transform, you stupid lizard," Vegeta commanded, still holding his finger in the air.

Though he was seething with rage, Freeza forced himself to calm down and pressed the button on his scouter. "32,000...that's quite the trick you've learned, Vegeta, being able to hide your true power so effectively. Very well, but I hope you know you won't live to regret this!"

Freeza's body was soon enveloped in a purple glow as it began to expand and shift. Gohan and Krillin stared with vaguely horrified expressions, though Goku and Vegeta simply watched calmly. When the transformation finished, Freeza stood at twice his previous height.

"So, what do you think, Prince? I haven't had to use this form in a while, but last time I clocked it, it had a power level of about a million."

"Stop wasting my time," Vegeta said. "When I said transform, I meant all the way. Show me your fourth form."

Freeza's eyes widened, then narrowed. "I figured you'd heard about my transformations from the rumors that circulate the empire, but there's no way you could know how many I had. Care to explain, Vegeta?"

"No, I don't," the prince replied carelessly. "Hurry up and skip to your final form, or I'll make you."

"Such conceit! A filthy monkey like you will never be worthy of the splendor of my—"

He was once again interrupted as a fist planted its way into his stomach. The tyrant gasped and stumbled backwards, struggling to stay on his feet as his body protested against the pain of the hit.

"I won't ask again," Vegeta snarled, charging a purple beam of ki in his hands. "If you're not in your final form by the time I'm done charging this attack, you will perish. Transform. _Now_."

Freeza gazed upon his former subordinate with obvious rage, but there was fear present as well. His survival instincts winning out over his pride, he transformed a second time, skipping his third form entirely.

In the place of the previous behemoth stood the diminutive stature of Freeza's true form, glaring with cold hatred at Vegeta, who smirked.

"That's better," the saiyan prince said, before unleashing his Galick Gun.

Freeza snarled as he held one arm out and caught the blast.

The resulting explosion forced Gohan and Krillin to cover their eyes as Goku grabbed them both and brought them to a safer distance. When the smoke cleared, Freeza stood unscathed, still glaring heatedly.

"You even pushed me to 50%," the tyrant spoke condescendingly, confidence returned now that he was fighting in his undefeated form. "It seems I was right to destroy Planet Vegeta all those years ago. But this time, I'll make sure not a single monkey survives to challenge my sovereignty!"

"You know Freeza, there's something I've always wanted to tell you, ever since I was a boy," Vegeta drawled. " _You talk too much_." With that said, the prince charged forward, and the fight began.


End file.
